Seriously, I'd rather be playing games than watching them. I understand the desire to root for a home team, but these are professionals that grew up somewhere else and most likely live somewhere else. I'm going to be rockin out with a friend...if we can get a drum set for him to use and find a place to play at. Then I'll be playing TF2 the rest of the evening. To each his own I guess.

I've played the previous Deus Ex games...and hope this one is fun as well, but I didn't like the action in the trailer. The cut scenes were OK, but I didn't like some of the FPS action. The iron sight view was OK, but then it went to where you can see jensen on the left of the screen...weird...I really hope that was a cut-scene or something like that, cause I don't want to play a game where non-iron sight gameplay has me looking at myself on the left of the screen.

Also, the reaction from the enemy AI when they were getting shot just doesn't look good...the 2nd guy he was shooting seemed to be dancing or something instead of hitting the ground or trying to find cover.

Hmm...once DX:HR is released "early 2011" I'm sure they will be liquid again.

On the other hand...they should dump the console biz and focus on PC games. I think if one developer focused on PC games we would have some awesome games again...like we started to get in the late 1990's with titles like Thief, Unreal, System Shock, Dues Ex, Tribes, Clive Barker's Undying, and Half-Life just to name a few. There hasn't been much of an advancement in PC gaming since then other than in the multiplayer arena.

PC games were headed toward innovative and interesting weapons until developers started to focus on consoles. Since then the weapons have headed toward simple and easy to use weapons...point and click...and for some games like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light it's just click because the weapon auto targets the enemies you are facing.

PC games are getting boring...it's just more of the same stuff we had before...and for Duke Nukem Forever it is exactly what we had before.

Well...I really like Painkiller, and People Can Fly do make good games so I'm all thumbs up. But, yeah...JoWood being involved does sound off-the-wall after their recent financial problems. However, PK isn't a game that needs a lot of support...it's normally good to play with just a couple of odd bugs that get fixed soon after release. They really should try some kind of Beta test.

A good example is the problems that users have with BioShock 2...many, and I mean like over a thousand, players are unable to download and install the patches that 2K released for BioShock 2 because their systems have locked down access to their network adapter to only Windows TCP/IP stack applications. Microsoft does spend the time to analyze the problem...I'll give them that, but when it becomes clear that the user's security profile is preventing non-Windows applications from accessing the internet the support stops and the users are directed to the forums where their complaints are ignored.

My analysis indicates that GFWL is a pure and unmodified console application which only seems to mimick a Windows application...in essence it tries to make the PC experience the same as the console experience at a deep technical level. Perhaps there are some systems for which a console is superior, but I didn't build my i7-980 with 6GB of 1600Mhz triple channel DDR3 RAM and nVidia GTX285 graphics card so it can perform in an environment that feels like a child's toy.

That's putting it mildly...GFWL apparently installs its own TCP/IP stack which means that any system which has been configured to prevent rootkit access, such as my systems, cannot use GFWL. When they ported this console app to the PC they apparently left the entire network code intact which means it creates a whole new network path that cannot be controlled by Windows Firewall...I spent weeks with Microsoft trying to resolve the issue and the outcome was that a system configured to prevent rootkits cannot use GFWL. And, they have not indicated that they have any plans to change this.

The plus side is that if GFWL works on your system then a rootkit can be installed and use your internet connection without your knowledge...making it a litmus test for rootkit vulnerability.

Relax blue...you are just using your imagination trying to figure out what your Readers' families are like. I don't know what shows you are watching, but real life families of your Readers are most likely a lot more dysfunctional...more like Pulp Fiction than TV fiction.

Or, after Microsoft tried to negotiate with Valve and when Valve said they would add-on to Steam a feature to connect with other GFWL players and Microsoft said no...GFWL would have to be installed on the gamers PC and GFWL would connect to the game...and all GFWL would do is use Steam's player database. LOL...and they were acting like Microsoft was giving too much to Steam while all the time Steam was getting absolutely nothing and the real problem of having to install a hax like GFWL in the first place was not being solved. The end result? Microsoft claimed that the PC gamers were too good with keyboard and mouse and the Xbox gamers with Xbox controllers weren't having any fun...they were acting like babies. The way-back machine has some details from July 2010: http://www.bluesnews.com/s/112430/pc-player-dominance-killed-cross-platform-gaming

This war for cross-platform dominance was lost the moment that Microsoft pushed their own gaming platform and ignored Steam. Microsoft wrote their own death warrant when they failed to work with Valve. Games like Portal 2 is just the most notable release of cross-platform gaming. Xbox sales will feel the pain...because Microsoft didn't play fair and didn't even try to connect to Steam gamers I believe we will be seeing a lot more games which are cross-platform between PS3 and PC and not even offered for Xbox. So... families in the future that do their research will choose a PS3 over the Xbox.

Hmm...still no update from Blue. I think this is the first time in at least 5 years that 1/2 a day has gone by without an update (and never before that...blue is the most dependable news source in the world)...even when his power went out he was able to get something up. This could be serious.

As for monitors I bought iiyama for CRTs and HP for LEDs and have never been dissapointed. I still have a 21" iiyama CRT which I bought in 1998 and it still works fine...and it supports the still existing max of 2048x1536 for a single monitor. My 22" HP LEDs w2207 are excellent and have more features than I can use...they still kick ars after 6 years of demanding use.

I don't go cheap on monitors because I know that if I pay a premium price then I will only buy a monitor once and never again unless the available technology provides better resolution. But, as I pointed out the max resolution has not changed for 12 years...my iiyama monitors costed $700 in 1998 and it's still the best quality available, but most likely if I had purchased a $300 monitor in 1998 it would not have supported the max resolution and I would have had to upgrade at least once and perhaps twice and also been monitorless at some point due to failure.

Now that Duke is going to be released...finally...and if it's as big a hit as anticipated...then it will be referenced to gauge expected releases for decades or even centuries to come. A quote we might see in the future is, "It won't take as Forever as Duke Nukem Forever."

This is very good news. Thief 1 by Looking Glass studios is still my choice for the Best Maps award...ahead of the fantastic vistas from Clive Barkers Undying by Dreamworks Interactive. As long as the maps are great and the gameplay is fun with an immersive experience and PC friendly controls with excellent graphics and special effects and awesome voice acting with rich background music and sounds. Or, am I expecting too much?

EA has made many bad mistakes...this is just another one. Some of us remember when EA started sharing our personal information and afterward sent every registered EA user an agreement to sign saying that we wanted to allow them to give out our personal information. This is one more reason that Studios and Publishers need to be completely separate. EA is full of marketing and sales personnel who are trying to run it like a cost/demand business.

The truth is that it really doesn't matter whether it's Single Player or Multiplayer...the only reason a game gets sold and played more than others is because it's fun. If a game was made so that 100 players could deathmatch and play CTF, Capture Point, or other types of games online, but just in square boxes then it would not sell as well as a game that was just single player but with extravagantly decorated environments...the environment needs to be rich and entertaining...there needs to be a story of some sort...a reason for the battles...otherwise it will decay as the newness wears out and another game comes out with a different colored box to battle in or with slightly different weapons.

When will companies, not just game companies, realize that the sales and marketing people lack creativity and inspiration and should not be driving any form of product. Let the developers and studios create the products...then it's the sales and marketing job to sell it...that's the way it works best.

Making an average 10hour long game = $2,000,000/year for 3 years.Cost of an average game to the end user: $60.Mowing an average 50ft by 50ft lawn once a week = $10/week for 6 weeks.Raking leaves on a 50ft by 50ft lawn once a week = $10/week for 6 weeks.

Do the math...games are cheap to the end user. Find some lawns to mow or rake and let those of us that like to work and play do it without sad remarks from the Lazy Lizards.

It's too late. There's nothing that can save this game for the PC. No retail box...which means I can't even buy it as a gift for a friend. Requires Games For Windows Live which means I can't even get my downloads unless I use an unsecured computer. No online coop until over a month after the initial release.

Of course Microsoft is pushing GFWL...it allows them access to confidential information and everyone's credit card accounts. The problem is that GFWL is a console gaming service which was ported to the PC...the ported code contains it's own TCP/IP stack which bypasses all Windows PC security settings just like a root kit does.

I'm not saying that GFWL is a root kit...I'm just saying that installing GFWL is just like installing a root kit...which means if it's taken over by malicious software then you won't know it because Windows won't be able to monitor it or shut it down, and if you are using it then you are already allowing it through your firewall and virus scanners. The only option to keep a secure system is to uninstall it.

And, no...a game must use the same matchmaking service in order for a multiplayer game to allow all players to play against each other. Steam has tried to get Microsoft to support Steam on the XBox platform but Microsoft ignored them and instead ported their XBox system to the PC i.e. GFWL. It's totally stupid...Microsoft spent millions of dollars doing it and have millions more to throw at it. Steam on the other hand isn't throwing any money at it that I can see...they are too busy providing better service.

In the end Microsoft will fail...it's just a matter of when they will fail, how they will fail, and whether they will admit that they were being idiots and trying to prevent players from getting the best service possible and trying to capture our confidential information and credit card numbers.

I think it's a credit of Team Fortress 2's exceptional FUN quotient that puts it at 9th in the best seller list 2 years after release.

Mann Manor is Da Bomb! I played it until 2AM last night and I'm diving back in to get some more monster smack...I still have a lot of noisemakers to use.

And, there's nothing more insulting than being hit by a Random Crit Fish! Players should get their priorities staight...if it's for FUN then TF2 rocks. Obviously, if it's military simulation then there's 100's of games that can be chosen...including Counter Strike...it's been done and redone. TF2 is NOT a military simulation nor was the original TF ever intended to be. It was initially a mod of the CTF game made by idSoftware to make it more FUN. TF2 is the natural continuation...it's tons more fun. TFC is what most people remember and it was not any more fun than the original, in fact it was a lot less fun...every class was running around with a grenade...it became the grenade toss deathmatch with a side game of CTF or Capture Point.

Yeah...I stopped tweeting or even reading tweets because they are just too short to say anything meaningful. The Forums are where the action is...at least that's where the fans are, unfortunately, developers keep ignoring that fact and just tweet. And, with tweets so short they aren't stimulating any new customers or at the very worst are confusing them and putting them off the games.